Kick off your Fourth of July party with this simple and luxurious appetizer! This crowd-pleasing American favorite uses just enough seasoning so that it won’t overpower the sweet taste of fresh crab meat. Use a light dusting of flour to bind the crab cakes together and to form a crisp and golden crust on the outside. Crab cakes are sometimes served with a sauce, but in this case, the crab cakes are so flavorful by themselves that I think a sauce would be unnecessary and probably overpowering.

Ingredients: (makes 16 mini crab cakes)

1 lb of fresh crab meat

1 cup red onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup green bell peppers, finely chopped

1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 cup Veganaise or Mayonnaise

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Dash of cayenne pepper and salt

4 tablespoons flour

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except flour.

Form the mixture into patties and lightly dust with flour.

Lightly coat skillet with oil, heat over medium to high heat. Cook patties, 3-4 minutes each side until browned.

In western cuisine, it is not common to see whole crabs served on the dining table. To a certain extent, this is understandable. Getting meat off the crab is a lot of work for the diners, and often a messy affair. However, it does have it merits, which helps explain why it is so popular in many Asian cuisines. Most people who have tried whole crabs would tell you that being “hands on” is actually a lot of fun, and makes the food seem tastier!

This is a great dish to make at home and share with family and friends. It is good to have the luxury of being at home and enjoy the dish at a leisurely pace, and simply avoid any possibility of being seen deconstructing your food in public! 🙂

Ingredients:

6 crabs

4 tablespoons corn starch

1 large pack -vermicelli/cellophane noodles

4 stalks scallions, sectioned

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5 pieces ginger

a handful of dried shrimp and a piece of dried ham (金華火腿) – OR a can of chicken stock

Prepare dried shrimp stock: Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Add dried shrimp and ham. When it boils again, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 40 minutes. *If you have a can of chicken stock, you can omit this step.

Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Lightly coat the crabs with corn starch and pan fry in skillet. Remove from skillet when they are halfway cooked (about 6 minutes) and set aside.

Transfer dried shrimp stock to a claypot and add in vermicelli. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the cooked crabs on top of the vermicelli. Place two crab shells on top and cook for 10 minutes or until the shells turn red (indicating the crabs are cooked through) **This recipe makes 3 claypots with 2 crabs in each pot.

Even though the crabs are the main ingredient of this dish and provides the majority of the flavor, it is probably the egg whites that are the soul of the dish. It is important that the egg whites are not overcooked as that would ruin the smooth texture. Also, egg whites by themselves do not have enough flavor, and it is essential to “borrow” the flavorful liquid that comes from the steaming of the crabs.

Lastly, the Chinese “Hua Diao” wine provides the fragrance of the dish and complements the flavor of the crabs.

Place crabs and ginger on a plate. Bring a pot of water to boil, and set the plate on top of a wide-mouth wok or large skillet as the base with a metal stand to balance. (The stand can be found at Asian supermarkets). Make sure the water is about 1 inch beneath the plate. Cover and steam over boiling water for 6 minutes. Remove the plate from wok.

Save the liquid from the steamed crab and mix it with cooking wine, chicken stock, egg, sugar and salt. *(the total of chicken stock and steamed crab liquid should add up to about 1/2 cup)